Collective rudundancy of Tallink Grupp's Latvian staff as future of the Riga-Stockholm route is uncertain

The 1989-built ISABELLE is the oldest ro-pax cruise ferry in the Tallink fleet. © Christian Costa

Tallink Grupp’s Lativan subsidiary, Tallink Latvija AS, has notified the Latvian Employment Agency and the group’s Latvian personnel that it is commencing a collective redundancies process of both shore staff and crew working on board the Latvian-flagged ro-pax cruise ferries ROMANTIKA and ISABELLE as the future of its Riga-Stockholm route remains uncertain in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

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Estonian government pulls the plug on the temporary Paldiski-Sassnitz service

STAR has operated the Paldiski-Sassnitz route for about a month. © Matti Block

Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has announced that it will not be extending the operation of its Paldiski-Sassnitz freight-oriented ferry service beyond 18 April.

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P&O Ferries’ NORBAY halted due to payment dispute

NORBAY arrived from Dublin in the morning of 16 April and remained tied up in Liverpool at the time of writing. © Kai Ortel

Peel Ports-controlled The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, operators of the docks at the Port of Liverpool, has prevented P&O Ferries’ Liverpool-Dublin freight-oriented ro-pax NORBAY from sailing in the morning of 16 April following a payment dispute.

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Another adjudication against Onorato

© Kai Ortel

The Court of Rome has sanctioned another preventive seizure under the so-called extraordinary administration of Tirrenia, which was triggered by the failure to repay the outstanding second instalment of the accrued debt, totalling EUR 65 million.

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Rederi Ab Eckerö makes 300 employees redundant

© Marko Stampehl

Negotiations between Seko Sjöfolk, the trade union for seafarers working on Swedish-flagged vessels, and Rederi Ab Eckerö concerning the labour surplus on the company’s laid up Swedish-flagged vessels, have led to a termination of contracts for 300 employees. This concerns all but 13 seafarers on board BIRKA STOCKHOLM and ECKERÖ as well as all shore staff in Sweden.

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ZHONG HUA FU QIANG takes to the water

ZHONG HUA FU QIANG was ordered as Weihai Haida Passenger Transport's SHENG SHENG 3. © Huanghai Shipbuilding

On 10 April, Huanghai Shipbuilding launched the 37,000gt ZHONG HUA FU QIANG which, when completed in late summer 2020, will be introduced on Bohai Ferry’s domestic Weihai-Dalian route.

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VITSENTZOS KORNAROS sent to Turkey for recycling

A view never to be repeated - VITSENTZOS KORNAROS seen alongside in Kissamos, Western Crete. © Philippe Holthof

After almost three years of layup following mechanical problems, the 1976-built VITSENTZOS KORNAROS left Piraeus for Aliaga, Turkey, on Friday 10 April.

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CMAL unveils three-year corporate plan for new vessels and major port infrastructure development

The 1986-built LOCH STRIVEN is one of the older ships in the 36-ship CMAL fleet. © Maritime Photographic

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has unveiled an ambitious three-year corporate plan (1 April 2020-31 March 2023) which will see the investment in new ferries and major port infrastructure developments.

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Armas-Trasmediterránea closes various offices

© Marc Ottini

The fact that Trasmediterránea has not operated between Alcudia (Mallorca) and Ciutadella (Menorca) for a while now, it comes as no surprise that the company has now closed its offices there, making all shore staff redundant.

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Baleària’s 2019 financials released

Baleària, the ferry and transport group led by Adolfo Utor, has released its traffic figures for 2019. Passenger volumes increased by 3%, to 4,480,000. Vehicles carried were down from 1,209,000 cars in 2018 to 1,064,000, a drop of 12%. Meanwhile freight lanemetres carried increased from 5,800,000 lanemetres to 6,111,000, an impressive increase of 5%. The financials reported are equally impressive. Revenues were up by 19%, from EUR 381,400,000 to EUR 452,000,000. The net profit was up by 5%, from EUR 27,400,000 to just under EUR 29,000,000.

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Tests reveal 121 positive COVID-19 cases on quarantined ferry

EL. VENIZELOS seen alongside the port of Piraeus' southern breakwater on 9 April 2020. © George Giannakis

ANEK Lines’ ferry EL. VENIZELOS remains berthed alongside the southern breakwater of Piraeus’ Grand Harbour after 121 passengers and crew tested positive for the Coronavirus.

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Press Releases

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Tallink Grupp’s Helsinki-Stockholm route vessel SILJA SERENADE to go to dock in Naantali shipyard for essential maintenance

Tallink Grupp’s vessel SILJA SERENADE, which is currently suspended from traffic in Helsinki due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic and travel restrictions, will next week be sent to Naantali, Turku Shiprepair Yard (owned by BLRT) for essential maintenance works. The technical works required for the ship’s class renewal were originally scheduled to take place this autumn, but have been brought forward since the vessel is currently not in operation and is waiting for passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden to resume after the state of emergency in Finland ends.

Sustainable all-rounder: SCHOTTEL EcoPeller deployed in modernization project for first time

The successful SCHOTTEL Rudder EcoPeller (SRE) is set to be installed in a retrofit project for the first time. Two four-bladed SCHOTTEL EcoPellers type SRE 340 L CP with an input power of 750 kW each will be featured in a double-ended ferry from the Norwegian ferry operator Torghatten Trafikkselskap.

Port of Tallinn - 2020 Q1 passenger and cargo flows

In 2020 Q1, 4.8 million tonnes of cargo and 1.6 million passengers passed through the harbours of Port of Tallinn. Compared to the same period of previous year, the cargo volume increased 2.0%. The number of passengers in Q1 decreased by 13.3%. The number of ship calls declined by 2.9% to 1585 calls.

Valmet to supply automation for two luxury expedition vessels built by Helsinki Shipyard in Finland

Valmet will supply automation and information systems for two luxury expedition vessels built by Helsinki Shipyard Oy in Finland. The vessels will be delivered to Russia’s largest river cruise company Vodohod Ltd., and they will operate both in the Arctic and Antarctic waters as well as in the tropical waters during the spring and autumn seasons.

Stena offering STENA SAGA as hospital ship with space for 520 patients

Stena RoRo has prepared the design and a project manager has been appointed to convert the large vehicle and passenger ferry STENA SAGA into a hospital ship with space for 520 patients. Stena RoRo can convert the ferry within just a few weeks and have it ready to provide additional healthcare capacity in a corona-affected region. Contact has been established with authorities in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany.

CRYSTAL UPDATES LAUNCH TIMELINE OF CRYSTAL ENDEAVOR

Crystal Expedition Cruises has postponed the launch of its luxury expedition ship, CRYSTAL ENDEAVOR. The news comes following the temporary closure of the MV WERFTEN shipyards, which halted operations in ship production to protect its employees during the COVID-19 global pandemic like most European manufacturing companies. Due to uncertainty regarding when production will resume, Crystal has been compelled to delay the introduction of the ship – previously planned for this coming August – and cancel all scheduled itineraries through October 31, 2020. The ship’s maiden voyage will now be the Tasmania & Fjords of New Zealand 14-night cruise embarking on November 14, 2020.

Industry celebrates five-year anniversary of world’s first methanol-powered commercial vessel

Wärtsilä, Stena, and Methanex Corporation are proud to mark five years of successful operation of the methanol-fuelled ferry STENA GERMANICA. This is the first ship in the world to run on methanol as a marine fuel, signifying a major milestone in the continued shift towards a more sustainable future for commercial shipping in line with the industry’s decarbonization efforts.

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., dies at 90

Arne Wilhelmsen, a founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) and a visionary strategist of the modern cruise industry, died Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Palma, Spain. He was 90. The entire Royal Caribbean family extends its heartfelt condolences to the Wilhelmsen family.